English and the World · Spain · 57 · Córdoba · A1–C2 · A1–A2 free
White streets and flowerpots, a small synagogue from 1315, and a boy from Córdoba who became a doctor in Egypt and one of the great thinkers of the Middle Ages. Choose your level.
From the Mezquita to the synagogue
The Judería, the old Jewish quarter, is next to the Mezquita. Its streets are narrow and white, with flowers on the walls. It’s easy to get lost, so here are some directions.
Start at the Mezquita and walk a few minutes north-west to Calle Judíos, “Jews’ Street”. Don’t turn into the side streets; go straight on towards the old city gate. Look for a small door and a sign: that is the synagogue. Go in and look at the walls: they have Hebrew words and beautiful plaster decoration. It is small, but it is very old: from 1315.
Maimonides, 1138–1204
Near the synagogue, in a little square, there is a statue of a man with a turban and a book. This is Maimonides. He was born in Córdoba in 1138, in a Jewish family. When he was a boy, new rulers came, and his family left the city. They lived in Morocco and then in Egypt.
In Egypt, Maimonides was a doctor for the sultan’s court. He also wrote important books about religion, philosophy and medicine. People still read them today. Stop at the statue and touch his shoe: people say it brings wisdom!
🦉 Want more? Sophia explains the little words for place and direction in The Space Between Things (Philo & Sophia, Lesson 12).
Language: imperatives and directions
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| instructions | base verb, no subject | Walk up Calle Judíos. |
| negative | Don’t + base verb | Don’t turn left. |
| directions | go straight on · turn left / right · take the first / second street | Take the second street on the right. |
| position | on the left / right · next to · opposite · at the end of | The synagogue is on the right. |
⚠️ No you and no to: Turn left, not ✗ You turn left or ✗ To turn left. And straight on (British) or straight ahead, not ✗ go right on.
Read the texts first. Press “Check my answers” at the end.
Choose the best answer.
1. Where is the Judería?
2. How old is the synagogue?
3. Where did Maimonides’ family go?
4. What was Maimonides’ job in Egypt?
Write the missing word.
5. right at the end of the street.
6. Go straight for 200 metres.
7. Take the street on the left. (2nd)
8. The synagogue is the right.
Write the imperative. Use one or two words.
9. left here: it’s the wrong way! (not / turn)
10. at the Hebrew words on the walls. (look)
11. your camera! (not / forget)
12. the statue’s shoe for good luck. (touch)
Go there!
Visit: the synagogue on Calle Judíos, the statue of Maimonides in the little Plaza de Tiberíades, and the Casa de Sefarad, a small museum about the Jews of Spain. Then walk to the Puerta de Almodóvar, an old gate in the city walls. Look into the open doorways: you can often see the patios inside.
Your task: give directions in six sentences from your home to your favourite place nearby, with imperatives (go, turn, take, don’t…).
It tells how a Jewish doctor became the caliph’s diplomat, how a small synagogue survived as a hospital and a shoemakers’ chapel, how a family fled the Almohads and a boy from Córdoba became the most famous Jewish thinker of the Middle Ages, and what his letters say about a doctor’s working day, with grammar, practice, etymology and a visit plan.
The A1–A2 version above is free for everyone.
It tells how a Jewish doctor became the caliph’s diplomat, how a small synagogue survived as a hospital and a shoemakers’ chapel, how a family fled the Almohads and a boy from Córdoba became the most famous Jewish thinker of the Middle Ages, and what his letters say about a doctor’s working day, with grammar, practice, etymology and a visit plan.
The A1–A2 version above is free for everyone.